ESPN off-season power rankings

[Stradling]

No "$300 Trout jersey" jokes yet, huh? Consider me shocked!

So you might be bringing this all on yourself.

[MVTrout]

So you might be bringing this all on yourself.

Naw, just beating you ****ers to the punch and taking away your fun.

[Stradling]

Watching you derail yourself is fun enough for most of us. Continue.

[MVTrout]

LOL!

[Ohtaniland]

If the Angels make the cover of Sports Illustrated, it's time to panic.

[Ender]

I think the only issue I take with it is Srattle being ranked so high. They've got a good rotation but no one really knows what to expect from Walker or Paxton, Iwakuma's magic may be running out and there's no guarantee that Cruz's PED magic will sustain itself in Seattle. Even Cano's power number dropped off considerably.

I think the Angels have an equal rotation and bullpen but will hit much better and win at least 5 more games than the M's. It's hard to tell if Seattle's a team on the rise or if it was a fluke year where just about everything went right for them.

As far as the win total goes, I couldn't give an exact number because every team

In the division improved( except the A's). Houston has bats now, Texas is healthy, the A's pitching depth is endless, Seattle added a bat or two and the Angels got younger and deeper.

When every team gets better it doesn't mean every team will win more. There's a chance that elite competition is just going to torpedo ball clubs and the winner might only win 89 games.

I think the key will be which team can be the most consistent. As in which team can play .500 ball the whole year and then just have a couple of win streaks where they pop off 10 wins. That's what gets you to the 95 mark. The Angels have the least question marks and a ton of depth. They look like the favorites to me.

 

Just about everything went right for us last season?

 

Iwakuma missed all of April. Paxton missed 4 months. Taijuan Walker only made 6 starts.

 

Our DH position was absolutely abysmal and there is no way Cruz can do as poorly as that. Smoak started a significant amount of games for us. Brad Miller sucked when he was supposed to be much better. Michael Saunders lost considerable time. Logan Morrison missed a significant amount of time. Obtained Kendrys midseason and he basically was worthless. We had to use James Jones and Stefen Romero in our outfield often.

 

To be honest I don't know how the Mariners won as many games as they did with the shit they ran out there .... our bullpen was AMAZING. Felix was amazing. Iwakuma was good until the end of the season. 

 

Projections mean diddly to me as well ... but this M's team is a better team than what was out there last year.

 

I just want to watch some ****ing baseball!

Edited February 15, 2015 by Ender

[Second Base]

Just about everything went right for us last season?

Iwakuma missed all of April. Paxton missed 4 months. Taijuan Walker only made 6 starts.

Our DH position was absolutely abysmal and there is no way Cruz can do as poorly as that. Smoak started a significant amount of games for us. Brad Miller sucked when he was supposed to be much better. Michael Saunders lost considerable time. Logan Morrison missed a significant amount of time. Obtained Kendrys midseason and he basically was worthless. We had to use James Jones and Stefen Romero in our outfield often.

To be honest I don't know how the Mariners won as many games as they did with the shit they ran out there .... our bullpen was AMAZING. Felix was amazing. Iwakuma was good until the end of the season.

Projections mean diddly to me as well ... but this M's team is a better team than what was out there last year.

I just want to watch some ****ing baseball!

I think you just answered for yourself. The Mariners just weren't that good last year. Your youngsters didn't step up, your vets didn't give you as much as you'd hoped, yet you won a fair amount of ball games. Everything broke your way. Despite bringing in a bat or two, can you rely on the same sort of luck you had last year.

With the Angels, no one questions their 98 win performance. Youngsters did their jobs, the vets came through for the most part as they should and the bullpen grew into a very solid one by the end of the year. They played up to their ability, not over their head.

[wopphil]

I think you just answered for yourself. The Mariners just weren't that good last year. Your youngsters didn't step up, your vets didn't give you as much as you'd hoped, yet you won a fair amount of ball games. Everything broke your way. Despite bringing in a bat or two, can you rely on the same sort of luck you had last year.

With the Angels, no one questions their 98 win performance. Youngsters did their jobs, the vets came through for the most part as they should and the bullpen grew into a very solid one by the end of the year. They played up to their ability, not over their head.

The mariners had the run differential to support their record. They did not have a fluke season.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I get a kick out of how much people overrate Kendrick since the trade. You'd think we were losing an MVP type player the way the media has been portraying him lol. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice player but he's not a big loss

 

I was watching MLB Network last night and they were rating second basemen. Kendrick was rated #5 in all of baseball. I suppose that as soon as you put on Dodger blue, your value as a player increases fivefold.

[ten ocho recon scout]

I was watching MLB Network last night and they were rating second basemen. Kendrick was rated #5 in all of baseball. I suppose that as soon as you put on Dodger blue, your value as a player increases fivefold.

yep

[Troll Daddy]

Kendrick's impact to the Angels ... is the same impact Cepedes was to the A's.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Troll Daddy

[Stradling]

I was watching MLB Network last night and they were rating second basemen. Kendrick was rated #5 in all of baseball. I suppose that as soon as you put on Dodger blue, your value as a player increases fivefold.

Well he was top ten last year, so.

[Docwaukee]

Kendrick's impact to the Angels ... is the same impact Cepedes was to the A's.

that's actually a pretty interesting analogy actually.  I don't necessarily agree with it how I am imagining you intended it.  

 

I don't think Howie's presence to our lineup is the same as Cespedes was to Oaklands.  However, i would argue that Kendrick is actually a better and more productive hitter overall.  His loss is going to be noticeable.  But more so from an overall production standpoint whereas the loss of Cespedes to oakland seemed to affect everyone else in the lineup.  I don't think that is going to happen to the same degree.  

[Lou]

that's actually a pretty interesting analogy actually.  I don't necessarily agree with it how I am imagining you intended it.  

 

 

The LMU Lion weeps...

[Docwaukee]

The LMU Lion weeps...

I was feeling magnanimous.  

[DW711]

pretty funny seeing people who know nothing about my team talking about specific players like they're experts.

 

i think the west is just too tough to call right now, but if i had to bet on it, i'd bet on the angels taking the division. 

 

Most people don't know the M's player by player (I'm kind of in between with watching random games and fantasy baseball, etc)..but I'm betting some people do

 

I agree though, I the Angels should win 86-90. the Rangers could surprise people..but probably in the high 70's-low 80's.

 

the Astros are a couple years away. the A's could be awful, but have a shot at the division. The M's...it really just depends on how their offense holds up. Weeks was a nice addition.

[Second Base]

The way I see it, the M's have the King, and a lot of question marks. Richards doesn't match Felix, but he is elite. However, if you're going to compare Iwakuma, Elias, Paxton and Walker to Weaver, Shoemaker, Santiago, Heaney, Tropeano, Wilson and then add Skaggs back into the mix next year, I'd say the Angels and M's stack up pretty well.

The M's are a little better up top and the Angels are a little better 3-4-5. But that assumes the youngsters in Seattle's rotation come up and perform the way they're expected to. If they don't, then the Angels rotation suddenly looks a lot better in comparison.

[Troll Daddy]

pretty funny seeing people who know nothing about my team talking about specific players like they're experts.

i think the west is just too tough to call right now, but if i had to bet on it, i'd bet on the angels taking the division.

What's even funnier is your avatar. I also think you're afraid to stand up for your team ... you rather be safe than sorry.

[Broad Street]

Absolutely ridiculous to have the Indians ranked over the Angels. We pitch better, we hit better, and we have a better defense and bullpen. Insane.

[DW711]

Well, it's just one guy and I'm sure without reading that he said the Angels play in the toughest division..so, there's that.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I don't think Howie's presence to our lineup is the same as Cespedes was to Oaklands.  However, i would argue that Kendrick is actually a better and more productive hitter overall.  His loss is going to be noticeable.  But more so from an overall production standpoint whereas the loss of Cespedes to oakland seemed to affect everyone else in the lineup.  I don't think that is going to happen to the same degree.  

 

Cespedes was a presence in the Oakland lineup. As soon as he was traded the team started sinking. He was the one guy in the lineup who you didn't want to face with two on and a two-run lead. Several people have argued against this quoting numbers, but IMO Cespedes was the heart of Oakland's lineup (and perhaps of their club in general) and they lost both confidence and production when he was traded to Boston. Kendrick is productive, but he isn't the same kind of hitter.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Vegas Halo Fan